Question of the Week: Name your heroes

Heroes come in all shapes and sizes--even in 2D forms of media--and plenty of people have no qualms with looking to them as "heroes." From literature, the way the nameless father "carries the fire" through The Road may make him your hero. From TV, Avon Barksdale's cold calculations in The Wire's drug game might earn your admiration. From graphic novels, Rorshach's clipped but lucid observations might make that member of The Watchmen your personal role model. All of these characters were at one time written, and to a certain extent exist within a two-dimensional world...as is, arguably, every single video game character in existence.

What video game character is your hero/anti-hero?

Adam Dodd (aka The New Guy): My hero would either be Wander from Shadow of the Colossus, or Commander Shepard from Mass Effect. I chose Wander because while you never learn much about him what he's willing to do to save Mona is very admirable. I chose the latter because you get to be the hero, so you basically choose whether you're going to be a good guy or a bad guy, and the moments when you have to choose how to deal with your crew, or who to save really formed a connection between me and my 'hero'. (Currently playing, and thoroughly enjoying Resident Evil 5 and Left 4 Dead)
Charles Husemann: While there are a lot of decent modern day heroes I'm still a big fan of Gordon Freeman. He's smart, gets the job done, and never really complains about anything despite being put in one bad situation after another. It's also worth noting that by being quiet he avoids the machismo BS that seems forced on most modern shooters (I'm looking at you Gears of War 2 and Killzone 2). (Currently playing Dawn of War II, Peggle, Team Fortress 2)

Randy Kalista: It's perhaps a flawed logic that turns Sparrow from Fable II into my video game hero. In the same breath, that character exemplifies why a video game hero is so hard to define. Whether Sparrow was a protagonist or antagonist, monogamist or polygamist, an adventurer or homebody, a maven or moron, a rogue or thug, a warrior or bully, a wizard or trickster, a lover or fighter, a giver or taker, whether honorable or abhorrent, that Sparrow was my Sparrow, not yours, and your Sparrow certainly wasn't mine. Sparrow allowed us to define for ourselves what a hero could be, or forced us to face what one should never become. (Currently playing The Oregon Trail and Sky Babes vs. Fly Boys (both for iPhone), and Fallout 3--no more excuses)

Cyril Lachel: My favorite character may have only had two real adventures, but he left a big impact. My favorite game hero is Strider Hiryu, the futuristic ninja in both Strider 1 and 2. I still contend that Capcom's Strider is easily one of the greatest 2D action games of all time, thanks in large part to Hiryu's cool costume and wicked weapon (a long sword that slices down so fast that all you see is its outline). Other serious contenders would be Arthur the Knight from the Ghosts N Goblins series, ICO from, well, ICO and Alucard from Castlevania III and Symphony of the Night. But no matter how good those characters are, none of them compare to Strider Hiryu. (Currently playing Star Ocean: The Last Hope, Ready 2 Rumble Revolution, Peggle (XBLA), Resident Evil 5 (Xbox 360), Legacy of Y's: Books I & II and Rock Band 2)